Display device



Aug- 7, 1955 1. MANTOFEL 1 2,758,193

DISPLAY DEVICE Filed June 15, 1954 BY MV' ATTORA/E Ys United States Patent O DISPLAY DEVICE Irving Mantofel, Newark, N. J.

Application Ilune v15, 1954, Serial No. 436,890

1 Claim. (Cl. 219-35) This invention relates to a novel display device more particularly a novel display cabinet designed to accommodate articles which must be maintained in a heated condition and which it is desirable to present to the view of potential users.

A variety of situations present themselves wherein it is desirable to store articles which must be maintained in a heated condition. It is further desirable in these situations to present these articles for ready View by potential users. Thus in restaurants and other eating establishments where comestibles and potables are dispensed and where it is ldesirable to display these foods as available for sale in a warmed condition, it becomes necessary to provide for some apparatus to aid in this display. Conventionally employed steam or hot tables find utility primarily in the handling of large quantities of food. However, when individual portions have been ladled out either for availability to waiters, as in restaurants or to the customers as in cafeteras some means must be provided to warm these foods and still make them available to view. It is of course further desirable to protect various food portions from contamination by foreign objects whereby some covering is desirable.

In laboratories similar situations as above described present themselves wherein it is desirable to maintain articles in a warm and protected condition and at the same time readily accessible to view in handling. Thus various culture media must be kept Warm and also available for inspection and selection.

It is with the above problems in mind that the present construction has been evolved, a construction providing for the warming and protection of given articles which at the same time permits ready viewing and access to said articles.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide a novel display device.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a novel display device construction, permitting ready display of objects which must be maintained in a heated condition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel display cabinet which may be readily adjusted to accommodate articles of various sizes.

A further object of this invention is to provide a display cabinet construction which may be readily cleaned.

lt is a further object of this invention to provide a display cabinet construction of great simplicity and economical of maintenance and production.

These and other objects of the invention which will become apparent from this disclosure are attained by provision of a cabinet having transparent walls. This cabinet is provided with a plurality of ledge members designed to support removable trays having electrical heating elements therein. These trays are provided with jacks adapted for insertion into outlets provided in conduits extending in the cabinet.

The specific details of this construction will be particularly pointed out in conjunction with the drawings,

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wherein like numerals in the various figures designate like parts and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a cabinet embodying the instant inventive concept.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 2 showing a single tray in position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view indicating the jack connection between the plate and the electrical conduits.

Fig. 4 is a side View of the cabinet with parts broken away to show the novel display cabinet construction.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a cabinet 10 having side walls 11 and 12 and a rear wall 13 and a top 14 made up of a transparent material such as glass or plastic is provided. A preferred construction of the above described walls, as most clearly seen in Figures 1 3, employs frame channel members 15 encompassing plates of glass or plastic 16 to form the wall members. A door 20 as best seen in Fig. l similarly constructed is hinged at 21 (see Fig. 4) to the side wall l2. Handle element 22 and spring closure 23 are provided on the door element 20 to facilitate opening of the cabinet to permit accessibility to its contents. Floor 25 constructed preferably of an insulating material serves to enclose the cabinet.

Within the cabinet and extending along the rear wall 13 thereof are provided conduits 30 and 31 as best seen in Fig. 3 supported on the rear wall 13 by screws 32 extending through the conduit and tapped into channel members 15 which frame the rear wall 13. Obviously these screws 32 may be replaced by other fastening means Within the scope of this invention. These conduits contain electrical wires 35 as best seen in Fig. 4 which are tapped into by outlets 36.

Ledge members 37 (here shown as channel shaped) are suitably fastened to the side walls preferably by welding to the frame members 15 of the side walls in spaced parallel alignment with outlets 36.

A plurality of plate members 40 having electrical heating elements therein, Said heating elements 41 connected in series to jack element 43, as best seen in Fig. 3, serve to complete the electrical circuit in said plates.

It will be seen that the electrical circuit disclosed in the preferred embodiment of this invention provides for the ow of current through the electrical heating element in the plates through conductors 35 in the conduits 30 and 31. These plates are in parallel to each other whereby the voltage drop across each of them is uniform. A switch 40 and a signal light 41 are provided in the circuit to attain their apposite function.

Operation In operation it is contemplated that a plurality of plates 40 will be inserted in the cabinet through door 20 and supported on ledge members 37 with their jacks 43 inserted into outlets 36 thus completing the electrical circuit in these plates. It is apparent that -depending upon the size of the objects to be supported upon these plates they may be removed to increase or decrease the tier height between plates. Upon connecting plug 42 to a suitable source of electrical current, and switching switch 44 to its on position whereupon indicating light 45 will become illuminated, the resistance elements 41 in the plates 4i) will become heated thereupon warming any articles in the cabinet 10.

It is thus apparent that a display cabinet has been provided Which serves to protect and warm articles which are readily visible and accessible to any potential user.

The above disclosure has been given by way of illustration and elucidation and not by Way of limitation and it is desired to protect all embodiments of the herein 3 disclosed inventive concept Within the scope of the appended, Claim.`

What I claim is:

A display cabinet havingtwo parallel opposed transparent side Walls; ai transparent rear Wall1 betweenl said side Walls; a transparent top over said walls; anv insulatingf floor below said: Walls; a transparent door hinged to one of said side walls; a plurality of pairs of ledge rnern` bers supported on said' sidey Walls, each pair lying in a horizontal plane spaced' from other pairs of said ledge members; a pair of electrical conduits extending perpendicular to said ledge members and having outlets at eachpair thereof; plate members having an electrical resista-ncemember therei11 removably positioned on said ledge members; jacks extending from said plate members into said outlets; and an electrical. conductor in each of said conduits, whereby a complete circuit .is formed through said plates, thereby heating them.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

